Seken
of the Kuromaku Agency | previous occupation = Unknown | team = Kuromaku Agency | previous team = Unknown | partner = Unnamed Kuromaku Agent | previous partner = Unknown | base of operations = Kuromaku Headquarters | marital status = Single | relatives = None | education = (Presumed) | status = Active | shikai = Mūseiu | bankai = Not Yet Revealed }} :"Not even God would turn his back to this sword." - Kai no Kimi Seken (背剣, Seken; lit. "blade's other side") is the pseudonym of the current leader of the Kuromaku Agency, who's actual name is kept unknown for safety measures. To date, he has been the only leader and was said to be "imported" from across another universe to ensure he would be unknown to anyone within the . Appearance Personality During his first appearance, Seken was portrayed as quite a mysterious character, mainly due his working status and such. His overall temper was quite ruthless, cold and silent, quite standard considering his position. However, later performances disproved this emotionless attitude, showing Seken is actually quite a "normal" guy during his free time. He compares himself to a vitalist, above all in their life-long promise to enjoy their life to the fullest and live as intense as possible. He has shown a general care-freeness and a staggering sense of unusual intellective and creativity, enjoying long philosophical conversations about hardly disputable subjects. He views his own being as unique and irreplaceable, but also weird in a way, and likes to compare his unorthodox view of life to that of "normal" people, even though he has no real interest in their opinion. As mentioned above, his easy-going attitude is completely missing during battles or missions, being as professional and strict as possible. Seken is a guy whom will always follow the rules and never do something not "according to the book", as it is his very job to prevent people from making that mistake. Shutting his emotions and personal influences off, his only concern is completing his "job" as soon as possible. History Synopsis Equipment Powers & Abilities : Seken's greatest skill lies within his mastery of the blade, completely surpassing any of his other abilities. Because of the shape of his zanpakutō, he specializes in double-bladed combat, although this doesn't signify a lag in single-bladed variations. Seken practices his personally-devised style, which he has termed Jōkyōsōjū (状況操縦, Situational Control). It is a fluid, uninterrupted style which focuses on lightning-fast movements and adaption. It is an offensive-directed style, and empathizes on incorporating no blocking or halting movements at all. Every tiny movement the opponent makes is instantly recorded, analyze and incorporated into Seken's next motion, and strikes are always to be dodged smoothly, with the evasion set to immediately transcend into a follow-up attack. Seken is a dirty fighter, being not below distractions and foul play to achieve victory. Although he's no good in illusions, he will often simply surprise his opponent with a seemingly reckless and unusual move, in order to finish them in the second they're flabbergasted. The incredible sharpness of his blades ensure short, intense fights whom will often finish in a sudden, unexpected instant. During a simulation exercise within the Kuromaku Agency, Seken was capable of slashing down three-hundred of his subordinates with neither sides sustaining any kind of injury. *'Yokushi' (抑止, Checkmate); A technique devised especially to free one-self out of high-class binding spells, the zanpakutō of the user is held in such a position that it becomes enormously restrained by the Bakudō, creating an enormous pressure within the blade area. A simple flick of the user is then all it takes to unleash this power in a wave of cutting force that, in the right hands, can break any kind of shackling spell. Seken proved his mastery by using this technique to slash the final stage of Bakudō #99 vertically in half, despite the great power behind the Kidō. : As is the case with all Kuromaku Agents, Seken has learned to spiritual presence to almost absolute zero. This is a standard with the Agency, to avoid unwanted attention and not give oneself away whilst shadowing their target. Seken has effectively managed to cleanse all traces of spiritual energy within him, so even the Captain-Commander doesn't notes his existence. Kagedō Expert: Even though he's well-versed in the knowledge of particular forbidden and hidden techniques, Seken is no real master of Kagedō. He has still displayed professional use of simple spells on occasion, being able to cast them nonverbally in quick succession. He has shown the ability to augment his sword strikes with particular castings, and even induce specific long-term poisonous or paralyzing effects. Most Kidō spells have trouble contending with Seken's Kagedō, although he's no match for a real master. *'Mūtoru' (無屠る, Decimating Void); Joining together spiritual particles using his own blood as a chain, Seken creates a myriad of purple flames whirling around his arm, functioning as the "perfect assassination weapon". Despite their appearance, the flames do not contain any fire-like properties, in fact not being warm at all. The flames have the ability to disrupt the "spiritual mass" of anything it touches, in layman's terms completely cleansing the soul. When the contact is sustained long enough, this can have lethal consequences, depending on the spiritual power of the victim. Their is absolutely no way to detect the cause of the victim's death, as Mūtoru leaves no traces at all on the physical body. Mūtoru is Seken's favorite and most-used spell, although he still doesn't use it that often, only to quickly finish off some of his targets. Phenomenal Speed: Throughout every appearance, Seken showed the uncanny and awe-inspiring ability to appear in several at once and crossing great distances in the blink of an eye. A great difference with traditional methods that Seken moves soundlessly, granting him a great advantage regarding the element of surprise. When combined with his Kagedō and assassination techniques, Seken can even go as far as "erasing" his presence, enhancing his movements to a point they become entirely invisible to the unfortunate victim. He could casually lay a hand on the Captain-Commander's shoulder and then escape the latter's point-blank before re-appearing and restraining his sword-draw. Just likes his Shikai techniques, Seken's rapid displacements seem to center around vibrating his muscles at high speeds, allowing him to achieve an almost unbelievable swiftness. Enhanced Strength: Seken's strength allows him to cut through steel constructs of great height and thickness with ease. He has shown to be more than capable of holding back strikes from opponents who in terms of body and muscle size should be greatly stronger than him. He was capable of containing the full brunt of a spell with only one hand, before diverting it into a nearby building with a careless wave of his hand. "Drowned" Assassin: As the leader of the Kuromaku Agency, Seken is without a doubt one of the most well-versed in the ways of stealth. Having been given the task to shadow no one less than the Captain-Commander of the himself, Seken's mastery in staying hidden and monitoring others exceeds that of practically anyone within the . He is the only one within Kuromaku to hold the rank of "Drowned", furthermore implying that he must be a dreadful assassin. Seken has devised and refined a wide range of assassinations techniques, said to be so demanding not one of his students ever came close to mastering them aswell. *'Mūjin' (無人, Non-Person); The Kuromaku use their knowledge of stealth and the workings of the human mind to "rid themselves of their form". Although true invisibility is a feat achieved by none, Kuromaku assassins developed Mūjin in order to make their victim deny his possible killer's presence himself. Through a careful appliance of speed and sound, the user attains a state of seemingly true "non-presence". Nicknamed "shadow-bending" by the lower piers within the Agency, the user makes profit of his surroundings and clever practices of sound mimicking in order to confuse their victim into thinking that any possible motion made by the user is nothing but a casual grill of nature. What exactly this technique details is kept firmly secret (although Seken has explicitly stated that no kind of spiritual "tricks" are involved) by the elders of the Agency, and commonly only Soaked are informed with Mūjin's specifics, although especially skilled Stained may be enlightened aswell. Sekens use of this technique is nearly legendary, a popular myth among the newbies of the Agency being that he once sat across one of his targets for three hours, only inches away, without being noticed at all. Perceptive Combatant: Seken has shown the ability to create masterful plans which seldom fail and even then being capable of instantly adapting them to the given situation. He has the capability to outsmart the entire and sneak into the Captain-Commander's private quarters without being noticed at all. Seken often uses forms of trickery, lies and deceptions during battle into overwhelming an opponent, sometimes even with their own assaults. Cleverly shaping even his weak points into advantages, Seken has gained the illustrious pseudonym of "mastermind" within the Agency. Zanpakutō Mūseiu (無政府, "absent of ruler") is the name of Seken's zanpakutō. In it's sealed state, it takes the form of a uniquely shaped pair of blades, which's likeness is said to be unlike any other within the spiritual planes. The blades are quite long, each one bearing the same length as a traditional katana, but being much slimmer and possessing a more discernible curve. There is no sign of a tsuba, and a simple exaltation and difference in colorization is all there is to indicate the beginning of the hilt. This hilt is gray-silver in color, while the actual blade is a pure silver. Mūseiu's metal doesn't seem to reflect like other swords, allowing for more unseen draws within the darkness and such. The blades are held in a quite irregularly shaped sheath aswell, looking more like a rolled-up cloth strapped on Seken's back, where one blade is mantled from above and the other from below. However, the scraping sound whist unsheathing does suspect that an actual, bottomless sheath is hidden underneath. *' :' In order to release his blade, Seken utters the phrase "Subdue the Silence" (沈黙を征服する, chinmoku o seifuku suru). Mūseiu's release doesn't incorporate any really notable in the blades' structure, besides the detail that their outline becomes hazy, as if the zanpakutō somehow loses it's immateriality. The immediate effect of the release is quite special, as it temporarily mutes all sounds within a range of seven miles around Seken. This era of stillness lasts only a couple seconds, and most people will fail to notice it, much less link it to a spiritual release. This does, however, allow Seken to isolate a specific sound, such as a conversation, within this seven miles that will continue normally and hear it like if he was standing next to it. This is the perfect ability for reconnaissance missions, in order to find a target by concentrating on their spiritual signature. Mūseiu gives off a soft, music-like sound, related to it's special abilities. :Shikai Special Abilities: Seken explains that Mūseiu's powers revolves around vibration, and that the frequency of the vibrating blades allows for a whole medley of abilities. Characteristic to these abilities that each of them is accompanied by another tone given off by the vibrating swords, which is referenced in the names of the techniques. As such, the techniques are marked as Notes (音, Oto) ranging up according to the Solfège system, although there are several side-abilities whom don't follow this ranking. :*'Some no Oto - Dō' (初の音・ドー, First Note - Do); The most often employed and first technique of Mūseiu's Shikai, Seken can use the high vibration rate of the blade to transform it into a near-unstoppable weapon, capable of cutting smoothly through the sturdiest of defenses. The vibration rate can go up to 10,000,000 times per second, although this sacrifices the vital stillness of Seken's duty, spreading it's tone far over the range of 6 miles. While in concept, it may seem similar to the wielded by the , Seken notes that only the edges of a Seele Schneider are revolving, like a chainsaw. During this technique, however, the whole sword of Mūseiu is vibrating, leaving even those who make contact with it's flat side with grievous wounds. *' :' Not Yet Revealed Quotes Behind the Scenes